DataCard Provides Solution for Department of Veteran Affairs' Smart Card Pilot.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 1999--DataCard Corporation and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) debuted a new smart card solution for veterans at the Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference in Atlanta. The new smart card-based solution is designed to improve the quality of patient care and service. A home care pilot program will give private physicians and clinicians access to patient data at the patient's home as well as local VA and non-VA emergency departments. The pilot program will run for six months and involve 80 veterans enrolled in the VA's HomeCare program.

Providing important information at the point-of-care

The DataCard(R)SmartRec(TM) enables patients to carry clinical, demographic and benefits eligibility information with them where they go. Patient-specific information is loaded onto each personalized smart card and presented to the care provider at the point-of-care. To access the medical information, smart card readers and the SmartRec application have been installed at registration points where veterans seek emergency or specialty care, and on laptops used by home care providers. Card data is printed from the laptop or PC, then updated following treatment.

DataCard's smart card technology represents a significant breakthrough in patient service. "Previously, all home care medical records were contained in paper files," said Chaz Kastel, Health Administration Officer at the VA medical center in Charleston, S.C. "Whenever a veteran sought medical attention outside the VA network, we would need to fax medical records to the physician. It was a time-consuming task that could cause delays for patients needing immediate medical attention. With SmartRec, clinicians can access this patient-specific information quickly and easily at the point-of-care. This underscores our commitment to improve service to our veteran patients."

In addition, SmartRec will help streamline processes, reduce admission time, eliminate duplication of tests and help prevent medication errors.

"SmartRec makes all healthcare encounters faster and simpler," said Ravi Sharma, president of DataCard's healthcare company. "In seconds, clinicians can determine whether the patient is allergic to certain medications, whether certain tests have been performed and how the patient has responded to their therapy program. Smart card technology makes this medical information easily accessible and highly portable, which will improve outcomes across the continuum of care."

Building on previous success

The SmartRec pilot builds upon the successful implementation of the Veterans Identification Card (VIC), which veterans use for access to VA facilities and services.

Using DataCard(R) image capture software and card personalization systems, the VA produced VIC cards for 2.6 million veterans worldwide. However, VIC utilized encoded magstripes, which limited the amount of information that could be stored on each card. In contrast, SmartRec's embedded microchip is capable of storing extensive medical and demographic information and can be customized to fit a variety of applications, including access control and biometric identification.

"The goal of this pilot is to extend SmartRec's capabilities to other VA medical centers and private healthcare providers, and ultimately throughout the entire healthcare industry," said Sharma. "SmartRec will set the standard for smart card solutions as the most efficient and flexible method provide patient-specific information to deliver the best possible care."

DataCard Corporation, a privately held company based in Minneapolis, Minn., provides customers around the world with fully integrated solutions for a variety of financial, identification and healthcare applications. In addition to turnkey solutions, the company offers complete lines of card personalization systems, digital photo ID systems, photo ID printers and transaction systems. (www.datacard.com)